PM Modi, Xi Jinping greet each other at G-20 dinner in first meet after Galwan clash

Bali, Nov 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands at G20 dinner hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali, Indonesia. The gesture garnered some attention because of the strained relations between the two countries over a border clash two years back.

A live video feed for the media from the welcome dinner hosted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo for G20 delegates showed the exchange between the two leaders. One is, however, not sure if Modi and Xi will have any personal meeting in Indonasia. Any such meeting, if it takes place at all, is highly unlikely to serve any meaningful purpose.

This was their first face-to-face encounter in public since the start of the military standoff in Ladakh more than two years ago.

This is the first time the two have been seen together since 2020, the year hostilities broke out at Ladakh.The eastern Ladakh border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5, 2020 following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

The tension escalated following a deadly clash in Galwan Valley on June 15 last year. As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process in the north and south banks of the Pangong lake in February and in the Gogra area in August. The last round of military talks ended in a stalemate.